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BFF-15
NKOREA-RUSSIA-DIPLOMACY
Putin ready to meet N. Korea’s Kim at ‘early date’: KCNA
SEOUL, Aug 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready
to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “at an early date”, the North’s
state media reported Wednesday, amid a rapid diplomatic thaw on the
peninsula.
Putin invited Kim and the South’s President Moon Jae-in in June to an
economic forum in Vladivostok next month although it is not known whether the
North Korean leader responded to the invitation.
In a message to Kim on the North’s National Liberation Day — marking the
end of Japanese rule over Korea at the end of the Second World War — Putin
reiterated his intention for a summit.
“I affirm that I am ready to meet you at an early date to discuss urgent
issues of bilateral relations and important matters of the region,” Putin
said in a message carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
The message did not offer a specific date for the meeting.
Putin expressed hopes to further develop “reciprocal cooperation including
the realisation of the tripartite project” that would also involve South
Korea.
Kim also sent a message to Putin, KCNA reported, noting the “valuable
tradition” of their joint wartime struggle against Japan was the “strong
roots” of their bilateral relations.
The message gave no response to Putin’s invitation, although KCNA did not
make it clear if Kim’s message came before or after the letter from Moscow.
The rapid diplomatic thaw on the Korean Peninsula since the Winter
Olympics has seen Kim meet with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in
twice, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1150 hrs